Entrepreneurial reentry after failure: a review and future research agenda

Purpose This paper aims to review the academic literature on entrepreneurial reentry after failure in an attempt to highlight the contribution to the knowledge, identify research gaps and outline an agenda for future research. Design/methodology/approach Several databases such as ABI/Inform Global, Academic Search Complete, Business Source Premier and Emerald Full Text were used to find peer-reviewed journal articles. Different search terms were used, such as entrepreneurial reentry, failure of habitual entrepreneurs, reentry intentions, entrepreneurial failure, serial entrepreneurship and venture failure. A total of 27 articles were finally selected and included in the final analysis. Using thematic codes, the selected articles were manually coded. Findings The concept of entrepreneurial reentry after failure has recently gained some attention from entrepreneurship scholars, but still, there are significant gaps in the literature. A wide range of entrepreneurship theories can potentially provide the necessary impetus to guide future research. The current literature remains largely inconclusive with inconsistent findings. This underlines the need to focus on this domain to conduct more studies to develop knowledge. The available literature is largely focused on exploring antecedents of entrepreneurial reentry after failure. Therefore, the author's understanding remains limited with regard to other aspects of entrepreneurial reentry after failure, such as context of reentry and outcomes of reentry. Moreover, future studies also need to include the developing country context for better understanding of entrepreneurial reentry after failure. Originality/value To the best of the author's knowledge, the current paper is the first identifiable review of the literature on entrepreneurial reentry after failure. The suggested areas of future research will potentially help in addressing the identified research gaps and further strengthening the theoretical foundations of this emerging research domain. Identified themes in the literature will also potentially help aspiring entrepreneurs to better understand the antecedents, contextual settings and outcomes of reentry after failure. This practical perspective will help failed entrepreneurs in particular to be more aware of the dynamics of reentry after failure and better manage the reentry process.